‘Nritya Acharya’ Natl. Award conferred

City Dance Professor Karnataka Kalashree Dr. K. Kumar (third from right) being honoured with ‘Nritya Acharya’ National Award at the ‘Shantiniketan Dance Festival-2024’ organised at Shantiniketan, founded by Rabindranath Tagore in West Bengal, Damar Dance Institute and Sahelis Ichhedan Foundation. Prof. T. Shankara Narayan, retired Professor and Head, Sangit Bhavan; Prof. Budh Devdas, Principal of Sangit Bhavan; Prof. Mohan Kumaran, Head of Sangit Bhavan; Dr. Sumit Basu, Assistant Professor, Manipuri Dance Department, Visva-Bharati University, Shantiniketan; Deepak Mukherjee, Senior Programme Executive, EZCC, Kolkata; Amit Adhikari, Administrative Officer, EZCC, Kolkata and Udaykumar Das, Samskar Bharati, North Bengal, were present. Following the award presentation, Dr. Kumar, along with his daughters, K.M. Lekha and K.M. Nidhi (popular as ‘Kalemane Sisters’), presented an exceptional Bharatanatyam programme. More than 300 dancers from across the country attended the event.